Leo Carrillo

A couple of weeks ago we went to the beach. This was a big deal for me. I don't really do the beach. I dislike having sand on me and in my things, I don't wear swimsuits or even shorts for that matter, the ocean freaks me out and the effort it takes to gather everything needed to spend time at the beach plus driving out to Malibu and parking just all seems like too much work to me.

William had been begging to go though for a while, plus my brother is staying with us and was interested in going. So go we did.

And...it ended up being easy and actually a lot of fun. We were able to park on PCH for free (instead of $12 in the lot) and it was just a short walk down to the beach. The little cove we were in only had a few other families. We took a little picnic lunch. There was a bit of a breeze and the air was pretty cool. Violet wore pants and a cardigan, I was wearing jeans and a light sweater, my brother wore a long sleeve shirt. And William wore a swim suit. How he was not freezing when he was soaking wet is a little boy mystery. Seeing the huge smile on his face and watching him have so much fun made everything worth it and I'm determined to go more often. While we still live so close to the ocean we need to take advantage of it (I've only gone to the beach maybe a dozen times in the 11 years I've lived in So Cal. Kind of sad.)

I need to just remind myself that it doesn't have to be a big production. The whole excursion, including stopping for picnic supplies, only took four hours. We'll be going back again soon for sure.

Journals and Journeys

They are the cutest things ever together.

I have realized recently that I miss blogging on a regular basis. I really enjoy going back through old posts like a journal. Since I don't write in a paper journal or anything, I'd like to make sure I have some sort of record to look back on. Especially as these little babies grow. My goal is to check in about once a week with some pictures and an update. So, if anyone is reading this ol' blog anymore, that's the haps. :)

We are driving to Utah tomorrow to visit my family. John will be in Korea and Thailand for 3 weeks on shoots so Will, Vv and I are hitting the road. My mom is flying down to drive back with us, which is super sweet and so helpful. It'll definitely make the 12 + hour road trip go more smoothly. We're going to take it nice and easy and do the drive over two days rather than cramming it into one. And Violet doesn't love the car, so I anticipate many stops. :)

Such tasty rolls.

I Like Stumps Quite A Lot

In December, my friend Dara dropped off a bunch of stumps at my house from some fallen trees. I was in Utah at the time, so it was quite the happy surprise when I got home. Well, since December, they had been sitting in the backyard since I was too pregnant to move them. Now that my brother is here, however, I was able to have him haul them to the front step a couple of weeks ago. Stumps + some succulents. Darling.

And I had to show off my new sandals. Cause I mean...come on.

Bike

For Mother's Day, John gave me the bike of my dreams! I didn't expect to be able to get this bike for a few more years, so it was especially exciting.

I have an orange baby seat for Violet once she's big enough to ride. John got a bike, too, with a seat for William. Those two guys go riding often to run errands or just for fun. I'm looking forward to the day when all four of us can ride to the park together! Our bikes are from Public Bikes. They've got quite the stand-up company over there and I really could not be more pleased with everything about them.

Oh yeah...

So here's the baby I made. Violet Elise was born on 4/4/12 at about 6:30pm. She was born at home, which was an incredible experience. Nothing can beat it! Violet is now 8 weeks old and is so sweet. She's very strong and curious and alert to everything going on around her. William loves her to pieces and is always giving her kisses and holding her hand and asking if he can "pet the baby". They are ridiculously cute together. Here are just a few of the many, many photos we have of this sweetie.